1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to machines and processes which assist in plant potting operations. In particular, the present invention the relates to potting machines whereby the pots are moved along a conveyor so that a drilling operation can be performed on the soil within the pot.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Horticultural growers have a need to periodically place growing plants (e.g., seedlings, shrubs, flowers, and the like) in pots of sufficient size so as to accommodate future growth. Once the potted plants have attained a desired size, they can be sold to retail nurseries, landscape companies or the like for transplanting to a permanent site.
Potting machines which assist the horticultural growers in placing their plants into soil-containing pots are well known. In this regard, most potting machines include a soil infeed conveyor which transfers potting soil from a soil supply to a soil lift conveyer which elevates the soil over and into pots traveling along a closed-loop pot track.
The prior art potting machines require a great deal of mechanical adjustments in order to properly drill the hole in the soil within the pot. As such, in order to change the depth of a drill, the machine must be stopped and the drill must be mechanically adjusted. In certain circumstances, the drill must be adjusted in order to achieve the requisite depth. Furthermore, under circumstances the drilled holes can be off center of the pot. As such, an adjustment of the pot holding mechanism will be necessary in order to properly place the drill in a centered position relative to the soil. Otherwise the positioning of the pot holding mechanism must be adjusted so as to center the pot below the drill.
The mechanisms associated with such prior art potting apparatus involve a large number of linkages and mechanical connections. Over time, these linkages and mechanical connections can become worn. As a result, the potting apparatus will work in a rather jerking manner. Whenever the machine is vibrating or jerking, there is a likelihood of pots being displaced, of soil being dislodged, and of ineffective hole drilling.
In the past, many such potting apparatus have included a circular track whereby the soil is loaded, compacted, and drilled. The centrifugal force caused by such circular tracks often causes the pots to assume an oblong configuration and tends to cause soil to be flung out of the pot. Often, an uneven layer of soil is the result of such centrifugal force affecting the pot conveying system.
Additionally, in the past, various fixtures were necessary to accommodate various sizes of pots. Generally, in such potting processes, the pot can be of a five gallon size or be as large as up to a twenty-five gallon size. These fixtures in prior art potting machines must be changed so as to accommodate the different sizes of such pots. Additionally, the various compacting and drilling operations must also be manipulated so as to accommodate the different sizes of pots.
Further, the prior art potting machines also include a large variety of mechanical linkages. It is known that, over time, such linkages can become worn and damaged. Continual repair of such a potting apparatus is necessary so as to meet the demands for the production ofpotted plants. Also, typically, the drilling operation on such a pot is a relatively ineffective process. The pot must be placed below the drill and then the drill lowered from an elevated location downwardly into the soil so as to drill the hole. The drill must be placed at a relatively high location so as to accommodate large size pots and have a considerable length of travel in which to reach the drilling location.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to potting apparatus. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,839, issued on Apr. 25, 1972 to B. Krause, shows an apparatus for the potting of plants. A hollow drum is mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and in its opposite axial ends are provided with respective center openings through one of which particulate potting material is introduced in flowable state. A feed introduces through the other of the openings sequentially upwardly open potting containers which are subsequently withdrawn from this other opening. A rotating means rotates the drum about its axis and entraining blades interior of the drum continuously entrain and lift the potting material upwardly of the potting containers so that it cascades over and into them.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,465, issued on Jan. 30, 1973 to A. H. van Nobelen, describes a device for filling flower pots with earth. The device has a vessel for receiving an earth supply, a conveyor for moving a number of pots towards and from the location where the filling occurs, and means for raising the earth from the vessel to above the plane of the pot-conveyor. An upright side of the supply vessel is formed by a side of a vertically extending endless conveyor enclosing an acute angle with respect to the bottom plane of the vessel. The bottom of the vessel is the upper side of a belt conveyor and a channel is provided at the point where the conveyors meet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,041, issued on Apr. 10, 1973 to Ota et al., describes an apparatus for filling and packing soil. The apparatus includes means for compressing the soil in the containers by pressing the lower lap of a conveyor belt downwardly thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,033, issued on Jan. 1, 1974 to N. E. Hickerson, shows a pot filling and compacting apparatus and method. Spilled soil is collected and returned to a hopper for re-use. A punch is provided for driving a hole in the soil in the pot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,881, issued on May 3, 1977 to G. Nothen, describes the automatic filling of flower pots. The machine has a horizontally-moving conveyor on which empty pots are magazine-deposited, for intermittent movement, so as to pass successively to a station at a funnel-like earth filling device, to a station at a leveling device, and to a station at a hole drilling device. The hole drilling device produces a conical, plant-ball receiving hole. The conveyor accepts pots in rows and columns.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,341, issued on Dec. 14, 1982 to C. F. Powell, teaches a plant container filling machine. A pair of synchronized rotating bladed wheels dispense soil from a hopper into flats of pots moving on a conveyor in a coordinated manner beneath the wheels. The hopper is vibrated by impingement of the wheel blades against the lower portion of the hopper. The containers are agitated by movement of a frame against the conveyor underside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,623, issued on Oct. 6, 1987 to Bouldin et al., provides an apparatus for continuously filling and preparing pots for receiving plants. This apparatus has an endless conveyor chain supporting a plurality of pot receiver elements and for continuously carrying pots from a pot loading station through a filling station for filling the pots with potting soil. The conveyor moves to a pot drilling station for drilling holes in the soil and then to a pot ejector station. The pots are loaded, filled, drilled, and ejected while the pots move continuously through the various stations. The pot drilling mechanism includes a rotary turret supporting a plurality of circumferentially-spaced rotating drills which are adapted to reciprocate vertically as they revolve about the rotary axis of the turret so that each drill will be lowered into a pot for drilling a hole in the soil while moving at the same speed and direction as the pot. Rotary pot loading and ejecting mechanisms are incorporated to move in synchronism with the conveyor chain for loading the pots individually upon the apparatus and for individually ejecting the pots after they are filled and drilled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,008, issued on Jun. 24, 1997 to the present inventor, discloses a potting machine having a pot track for sequentially conveying plant pots along a potting path. A soil lift conveyor having a soil discharge chute lifting soil above the pot track and discharges the soil through the soil discharge chute and into those plant pots on the pot track positioned in the potting path therebelow. A soil infeed conveyor conveys the soil from a source thereof to the soil lift conveyor. The soil flow rate between the infeed and lift conveyors is synchronized by a chain-and-sprocket synchronizer. A soil flow-control motor connected to the chain-and-sprocket synchronizer continuously drives the same so that the soil infeed and lift conveyors respectively feed and lift soil in a continuous synchronous manner to thereby effect control over the flow of soil from the soil source to the discharge chute. The potting machine has coordinated indexing and soil drilling assemblies so as to respectively advance the plant pots along the potting path and drill a recess in the soil deposited into the plant pots by the lift conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,949, issued on Jul. 22, 2003 also to the present inventor, shows a potting machine that has a synchronized continuous motion pot track and soil drilling systems. A soil-filled pot is moved continuously along a linear segment of a pot track. A drill bit is moved continuously in synchronized registry with the soil-filled pot at the same time as the pot moves continuously along the linear segment of the pot track. Simultaneous horizontal and vertical motion components are imparted to a soil-drilling drill bit relative to the linear segment of the pot track by moving the drill bit in an arcuate orbit above the pot track. Since such simultaneous horizontal and vertical motion components cause the drill bit to track linearly in registry with the pot conveyed by the pot track along the linear segment thereof and to be moved vertically into and out of contact with soil contained within the pot to thereby drill the planting recess therein.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus that provides a common drilling depth for the soil in pots passing therethrough.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus which avoids deformed drilled holes due to a lack of centrifugal force on the pots, as is common in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus which speeds up the potting process.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus that is adaptable to different sizes of pots.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus which avoids the use of fixtures and other retainers for the pots and also avoids any toppling of the pots while on the conveyor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus that maximizes the use of soil.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus which avoids the need for accurate spacing of the pots along the conveyor.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a potting apparatus which avoids mechanical linkages so as to improve the reliability of the potting operation.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.